All rights belong to Disney/Marvel. I own nothing.
Florida
"Who the hell is that?" Riri asked, turning to look at Kamala.
"He's an android created by Tony Stark," the young heroine explained quickly, keeping her gaze firmly planted on the imprisoned Avenger. "I don't know why he would be here. All the stories I read say he died in Wakanda when Thanos took the infinity stone from him."
"He's not our problem," Riri said firmly.
"But he could need our help," Kamala countered passionately.
"My stuff isn't here," Riri all but snarled. "For all we know, he messed with my tracker and tricked us here so his friends could catch us. We have to finish what we came here to do."
Kamala looked at Kate, her eyes pleading for support. She felt very strongly about freeing Vision and hearing his story. Whether it was her adoration and idolization of the Avengers or simply genuine care for another being, Kate wasn't sure. The archer wanted to support her friend—Kamala had been instrumental in putting the team together—but all logic pointed to following Riri and finishing the mission.
Kate hesitated, trying to think. She felt the eyes of her teammates on her. Their expectations, fears, and hopes weighed heavily on her shoulders as she tried to find a way to keep everyone safe while getting the mission done.
"We'll split up," Kate sighed, not happy that she was breaking up the team again. "Kamala and I will stay here and deal with Vision. You three should go find Riri's suit. We'll meet you outside."
"Is that a good idea?" Riri asked.
Kate glanced at Kamala before nodding. She had made her decision and she refused to go back on it. If Clint had taught her anything, trust her instincts and be mindful of her fears. She was afraid that her new friends would be harmed if they continued to break up during the mission, but she also saw the advantage of divide and conquer.
"Yes," she nodded finally. "Come on Kamala. We don't have long."
The two girls left the ship, and as it set off, the duo got their blue Pym disks and slammed them against their chests. Immediately, they returned to their normal sizes, blinking their eyes quickly as they adjusted to the change. There was something awkward about changing size that was akin to spinning in place and stopping. There was a readjustment period.
Kamala was the first to recover. She slowly approached the android, rightfully cautious of the being.
"You're the Vision, aren't you?" Kamala asked curiously. When he didn't respond, Kamala frowned. "Why aren't you responding?"
His eyes flickered toward the row of machines that emitted the beams. Kate noticed the look and quickly put the pieces together. She didn't know the science behind why the beams affected Vision, but she had a good guess as to how they were affecting him.
"The beams aren't letting him move," Kate said, standing beside her friend.
Kamala's fists glowed. "Let's smash them."
"Hold on, Kamala," Kate said carefully, laying a hand on her arm. "We still don't know if we can trust him. Let's take this slow."
Kamala agreed with the reasoning as her powers subsided. She reddened slightly as she realized that she had been rash. "You're right."
Kate whipped out an EMP arrow and aimed at the nearest machine. As soon as the arrow stuck, blue arcs of electricity buzzed around the arrow. Soon, the beam died and there was a little less noise in the room.
The white stranger took a deep breath. "Thank you, Ms. Bishop."
"How do you know me?" Kate asked warily.
"I am in constant contact with the internet, Ms. Bishop," Vision said calmly. "I was made aware of your time with Clint Barton. Your exploits were quite public."
Kate couldn't help but agree with the assessment. They did defeat several mafia members on an ice rink in the middle of the Christmas season.
"That's fair."
"I thought the Vision was destroyed in Wakanda," Kamala pointed out. "Why are you here? Why are you white?"
Vision gave the duo the summary of his short lifespan, starting with his rebirth, explaining his role in the Westview incident, and ending with the trick Director Price pulled to lure him to Florida and trap him. He made sure to emphasize that he held the memories of the original Vision and had erased all of the programmed protocols that made him a slave to S.W.O.R.D.
The two girls listened intently, not asking questions but certainly making mental notes of what to ask later if they managed to escape the facility.
"Kate, can you hear me?" Riri asked over the comms.
"Is everything okay?" Kate replied.
"Nope," Eli answered through what sounded like gritted teeth. "They know we're here."
As Eli said this, the doors to the garage burst open as a dozen soldiers filed in, armed and ready for a fight. Kamala and Kate immediately readied themselves, but even they recognized how outnumbered they were.
"Put down your weapons and surrender!" One of the soldiers barked. "We don't want to hurt you."
"We walked into a trap," Kate grunted to the other heroine.
"It appears so," Vision said calmly, barely levitating off the floor.
"Shit," the soldier grumbled, speaking into his comms. "Boss, Vision was released."
"Fire." Came the response, loud and clear.
Kamala threw up a shield of hard light to protect the two heroes, Kate drew her first arrow. However, before she could fire, Vision wiped out the soldiers with a single blast from the energy crystal in his head. The icy-blue beam left a burning line on the floor where the scattered and wounded soldiers once stood.
The action took less than two seconds to complete and left both girls stunned. Kate was the first to bring herself back to reality.
"Thanks for the help," Kate said gratefully.
"I believe the human term is 'I owed you one'," Vision said, sounding slightly awkward trying to use common slang.
"We have to help Riri," Kamala reminded Kate. "Vision, can you help us?"
"It would be my pleasure, Ms. Khan," Vision bowed his head.
Their conversation was cut short as a crashing sound came from somewhere else on the compound. Skaar's roar echoed across the buildings as gunshots rang and snapped.
"Did you bring Dr. Banner?" Vision asked curiously.
"Long story," Kamala laughed grimly. "Help us out and I'll explain everything."
"Very well, Ms. Khan," Vision allowed. "Come. Your friends need help."
Riri laughed as soon as she laid eyes on the box that contained her suit. It was a metal container with the words RW spray painted down both sides.
"They didn't crack the lock," she grinned. "Federal agents can suck my—!"
The rest of the insult was cut off as the soldiers burst into the room, springing their pre-planned trap. The soldiers were too calm, too organized, too prepared for them to be responding to the break-in on the fly. They carried assault rifles and were in full combat gear.
They had been aware of the team's presence on the base for a while and had taken the appropriate time to plan their trap. All they were waiting on was for the team to show up.
"What was that about jinxing?" Eli grumbled, feeling naked without a weapon.
"Shut up," Riri had snapped back, putting a finger against her ear. "Kate, can you hear me?"
"Is everything okay?" Kate replied.
"Nope," Eli answered grimly "They know we're here."
"Skaar, can you cover us?" Riri asked, any sarcasm or irritation gone as she became as serious as the situation demanded.
"Get the suit on," Skaar grunted, drawing his sword. He tossed the ship to Eli, who caught it. "Don't drop that."
As Riri put on the suit and made a few adjustments, Eli watched the fight between the hulkling and the S.W.O.R.D. agents. From what he saw, it was a one-sided fight.
Skaar was giving the soldiers more trouble than they probably wanted. He had a high tolerance for pain, a low tolerance for people who threatened his friends, and a broadsword that was wicked sharp and wielded by a warrior trained to kill opponents much more dangerous than human soldiers. Any bullet that hit him—and he was hit several times—only made him angrier.
"Eli!" Riri cried.
Eli turned just in time to see an agent swinging at him with an electro-baton. The young super soldier raised his fists instinctively and caught the blow with his left arm like he would with a punch. He gritted his teeth as his left arm was electrocuted, but found that he had a higher tolerance than he thought.
His jap landed flush on the agent's jaw, sending the man flying back.
"Not bad," Riri said approvingly as her mask slid into place.
Eli couldn't help but stare at the armor. It was smoother than any metal that he had ever seen and looked almost alien. The color scheme was a good mix of red and black, with blue lights wherever her power showed, such as the eyes, repulsors, and the heart-shaped symbol on her chest.
"Dang," Eli muttered.
"You can stare later," Riri said sarcastically as she launched herself into the air, blasting the agents that surrounded Skaar.
As the two young heroes had dealt with their problems, the hulkling had slowly lost himself in the red fog. He was crashing around the room like a bull in a china shop until he noticed some trying to run away and charged right through the wall trying to chase after them.
"Shit," Eli grumbled as he and Riri ran after him.
The two heroes joined the fight outside as best they could while staying out of the way of Skaar's rampage. Riri floated above the fight, blasting agents left and right. Eli managed to hold his own against the agents after arming himself with the electro-baton from his first attacker.
"Kate, any time now," Riri said, her suit alerting her to the column of black armored humvees approaching.
"We're here," Kate replied as she and Kamala rounded a corner, instantly joining the fight. Vision flew behind them, joining Riri in the sky.
"Ms. Williams," he said respectfully.
"Um, hi?" Riri said.
Vision finally noticed the vehicles and frowned in concentration as he flew towards them. The mounted turrets open-fired on the android, but the bullets simply passed straight through his body. As he passed the humvees, he blasted the tires on one side, bringing the column to a screeching halt as the soldiers noticed their rides were burning.
"Impressive," Riri complimented as Vision rejoined her.
"Thank you," Vision replied.
As the last of the agents were wiped up, Cassie made her appearance, surprising the last of Skaar's remaining opponents. She judo-flipped the man, using her new wings to add a little extra power when slamming the guy on the ground.
The hulkling rounded on the heroine, his sword raised and ready, but he stopped as soon as he came face to face with Cassie. The fury seemed to drain from his body as he lowered his weapon.
"Cassie?" Kate called, running up to her as the team rallied around the heroine.
"We're good to go," Cassie replied, holding up a drive. She put it back in her pocket as she readied a blue Pym disk. "Who has the ship?"
"I do!" Eli said, dropping the baton as he pulled out the ship and placed it on the ground, the others swiftly backing up. Cassie threw the disk and instantly shrunk as The Bucephalus returned to size.
"I believe more soldiers are on the way," Vision said as the team filed onto the ship. "I will cover your retreat."
"We will," Riri corrected, her mask sliding up to reveal her face. "I still haven't forgiven these assholes for taking my stuff."
"Fine," Kate said, putting her faith in the pair. "I'll let you know when we're clear."
Within seconds, the ship was slowly taking off. Riri and Vision rose with them, keeping guard. As they passed the main building, a group of men emerged from the barn-shaped headquarters, led by a man Riri had never seen before.
"Who's that?" She asked.
"Joshua Price, Director of S.W.O.R.D.," Vision answered, gazing at the man. "He will not forget this."
"Good," Riri grunted as they followed the ship as it headed east. "That will teach him to mess with my stuff."